This invention relates to the shearing apparatus and is more particularly concerned with an apparatus for severing small trees and limbs from standing trees, for example, in clearing rights-of-way or other purposes.
In the past, tree delimbing has been accomplished by placing a man in a gondola which is attached to the end of a boom which is in turn part of a motorized or self-propelled vehicle. The gondola is positioned next to the limb and the man in the gondola cuts the limb with a saw. Other techniques use complicated remotely controlled saws or lightweight hand-held poles with a saw or shear attached to the end of the pole. With the man in the gondola, two operators generally are required and the man in the gondola is in an awkward, unsteady position as he is raised into the air at the end of the boom. The hand-held devices are cumbersome, have a limited reach and are inefficient for use on larger limbs.